Breathing Problems: Basis for Chronic Diseases (Over 50 Studies)

Over 90% of modern people suffer from breathing problems, such as chest breathing, mouth breathing, and hyperventilation (breathing more than the medical norm). All these abnormalities reduce oxygen levels in body cells and promote chronic diseases. We can find solid medical evidence testifying that sick people have too heavy automatic breathing at rest.

Minute ventilation rates (chronic diseases)

Condition	Minute ventilation	Number of people	All references or click below for abstracts
Normal breathing	6 L/min	-	Medical textbooks
Healthy Subjects	6-7 L/min	>400	Results of 14 studies
Heart disease	15 (±4) L/min	22	Dimopoulou et al, 2001
Heart disease	16 (±2) L/min	11	Johnson et al, 2000
Heart disease	12 (±3) L/min	132	Fanfulla et al, 1998
Heart disease	15 (±4) L/min	55	Clark et al, 1997
Heart disease	13 (±4) L/min	15	Banning et al, 1995
Heart disease	15 (±4) L/min	88	Clark et al, 1995
Heart disease	14 (±2) L/min	30	Buller et al, 1990
Heart disease	16 (±6) L/min	20	Elborn et al, 1990
Pulm hypertension	12 (±2) L/min	11	D'Alonzo et al, 1987
Cancer	12 (±2) L/min	40	Travers et al, 2008
Diabetes	12-17 L/min	26	Bottini et al, 2003
Diabetes	15 (±2) L/min	45	Tantucci et al, 2001
Diabetes	12 (±2) L/min	8	Mancini et al, 1999
Diabetes	10-20 L/min	28	Tantucci et al, 1997
Diabetes	13 (±2) L/min	20	Tantucci et al, 1996
Asthma	13 (±2) L/min	16	Chalupa et al, 2004
Asthma	15 L/min	8	Johnson et al, 1995
Asthma	14 (±6) L/min	39	Bowler et al, 1998
Asthma	13 (±4) L/min	17	Kassabian et al, 1982
Asthma	12 L/min	101	McFadden & Lyons, 1968
COPD	14 (±2) L/min	12	Palange et al, 2001
COPD	12 (±2) L/min	10	Sinderby et al, 2001
COPD	14 L/min	3	Stulbarg et al, 2001
Sleep apnea	15 (±3) L/min	20	Radwan et al, 2001
Liver cirrhosis	11-18 L/min	24	Epstein et al, 1998
Hyperthyroidism	15 (±1) L/min	42	Kahaly, 1998
Cystic fibrosis	15 L/min	15	Fauroux et al, 2006
Cystic fibrosis	10 L/min	11	Browning et al, 1990
Cystic fibrosis*	10 L/min	10	Ward et al, 1999
CF and diabetes*	10 L/min	7	Ward et al, 1999
Cystic fibrosis	16 L/min	7	Dodd et al, 2006
Cystic fibrosis	18 L/min	9	McKone et al, 2005
Cystic fibrosis*	13 (±2) L/min	10	Bell et al, 1996
Cystic fibrosis	11-14 L/min	6	Tepper et al, 1983
Epilepsy	13 L/min	12	Esquivel et al, 1991
CHV	13 (±2) L/min	134	Han et al, 1997
Panic disorder	12 (±5) L/min	12	Pain et al, 1991
Bipolar disorder	11 (±2) L/min	16	MacKinnon et al, 2007
Dystrophia myotonica	16 (±4) L/min	12	Clague et al, 1994

What are the examples of these breathing problems, low body oxygen stores and poor health in modern people? Those who have dry mouth in the morning suffer from problems with mouth breathing that reduces body oxygen content. ur mouth dry in the morning? In addition, most modern people (probably over 80%) have automatic chest breathing at rest that reduces oxygenation of the arterial blood and causes tissue hypoxia.

In order to increase cell oxygenation, we require normal breathing rate that is very slow. Normal breathing frequency is only 12 breaths per minute at rest for an adult. Older textbooks provide even smaller rates. The term "shallow breathing" implies either too small volume or air per minute (so called tidal volume) or presence of chest or thoracic breathing. Depending on what is implied, shallow breathing can be either a positive or negative factor for better oxygenation of vital organs and body cells.

There are even certain parameters, graph, and description of normal breathing. For example, normal minute ventilation is only 6 liters per minute for an adult at rest, while normal health requires 40 mm Hg of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood. In spite of these medical norms, up to 90% of people suffer from numerous delusions or common myths about breathing. Less than 3% of people can provide a detailed description of the ideal breathing pattern that provides maximum cell oxygenation.

If we focus on breathing of people with chronic diseases, we can discover that, for example, heart disease patients breathe much more air than the medical norm. Therefore, it is logical that their heart muscle gets less blood and oxygen supply due to various physiological CO2 effects. If these heart patients find breathing techniques slow down their breathing rate back to the medical norm, then their heart perfusion, oxygenation, state of blood vessels, and many other key parameters will be normal. This will result in no symptoms of the heart disease and no need for medication.

But the same is true in relation to too heavy and too fast breathing in people with asthma, diabetes, and many other conditions such as COPD, cancer, sleep apnoea, liver cirrhosis, hyperthyroidism, cystic fibrosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, dystrophia myotonica, and so forth. It is normal then that these people are going to suffer from tissue hypoxia, anaerobic cellular respiration, generation of free radicals in hypoxia tissues, immunosuppression, chronic inflammation and many other CO2-related effects. Therefore, the smart way to deal with health problems is to apply those breathing techniques and lifestyle changes that increase body oxygenation.

As about healthy people, we can discover that their normal minute ventilation indeed corresponds to medical norms, while hyperventilation is present in over 90% of ordinary people or so called normal subjects. Indeed, medical research testify that modern people breathe almost 3 times more air than we used to breathe some 80-100 years ago, and this provides food for thoughts about causes of poor physical health in contemporary population.

Ineffective breathing of modern people and their low body oxygen levels

Why do we develop tissue hypoxia (reduced oxygenation) when we breathe more air at rest? There are two powerful physiological effects called vasodilation and the Bohr effect related to low CO2 in the body, They explain why heavy breathing worsens oxygen transport to cells and tissues of the body.

It is very difficult, even when using best medical devices and most sophisticated equipment, to measure brain and body oxygen content due to inhomogeneous nature of oxygen distribution among neighboring cells and the autoregulation effect. However, there is a simple DIY body oxygen test that reflects body and brain oxygenation at any moment of time. The result for this unique medical test testify that normal body oxygen levels in healthy people are about 40 seconds. However, body oxygen content in sick people is often about 15 seconds only due to their abnormal breathing.

In order to solve these problems with heavy breathing and low body oxygenation, Dr K. P. Buteyko, MD, PhD developed the Buteyko breathing method. While working as the Manager of the Respiratory Laboratory for Soviet Spaceship Research Project, he recorded breath parameters of thousands of healthy and sick people and suggested the Buteyko table of health zones that links together breathing frequency, body oxygen test results, and alveolar CO2 concentrations.

Dr. Buteyko also discovered that breathing parameters and symptoms in sick people are usually worst during early morning hours. This sleep heavy breathing effect is even stronger in the severely sick causing devastating effects and too heavy breathing during early morning hours. Over 15 Western studies also suggested that critically ill people are most likely to die during early morning hours due to complications related to heart disease, stoke, diabetes, asthma, COPD, epilepsy and other conditions.

"Hence, normal breathing corresponds to a healthy organism" as Dr. K. P. Buteyko suggested in his lecture in the Moscow State University on 9 December 1969.

We cannot control, in direct sense, development of chronic diseases, chronic inflammation and poor immune function, but we can control our breathing, directly and indirectly, 24/7 using various breathing techniques and lifestyle discoveries implemented in the Buteyko breathing method that is essectially about hyperventilation treatment.

Therefore, it is smart to focus in more detail on causes, effects, and other factors related to breathing problems, breathing patterns and body oxygen effects, development of chronic diseases and symptoms, and their prevention and treatment using breathing techniques. We also need to consider factors related to breathing in relation to exercise, diet, posture, and sleep.

While modern people are obsessed mainly with diets, there are many other factors that are more influential than effects of nutrients even though numerous nutrients are absolutely fundamental for good health. Most people can get more health benefits if they implement certain simple techniques related to correct sleep postures, prevention of mouth breathing, and correct physical exercise.

Buteyko method is approved by Russian Ministry of Health

Yes, the Buteyko method was officially approved by Ministry of Health in Russia to treat asthma. But Russian and Ukrainian medical doctors also had successful clinical trials on people with hypertension, radiation disease, hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis, cancer and even HIV-AIDS. These results testifies about power of breathing retraining to deal with variety of those chronic health problems that are based on low body O2 levels.

Oxygen Remedy online webinars

Oxygen Remedy is a new breathing retraining method which combines the best features of the Buteyko breathing technique and Frolov breathing device therapy. These online breathing lessons are led by Richard Geller and taught by Dr. Artour Rakhimov. This is probably the most advanced therapy to deal with breathing problems and low O2 levels in cells. Read more ....